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 Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
by Jay Fung
Blowing out your birthday candles, rubbing Aladdin's lamp, finding a Golden Ticket. What do these things have in common? Wishes. A few nights ago, I sat in a darkened theater with my popcorn, trying to ignore "the Twenty," with a wish of my own. Please let this movie be good. With the release of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, fans of the first film and/or the original book might have the same wish. People often say, "The movie is never as good as the book." This film might not prove them wrong, but it does a fantastic job of trying.
Tim Burton, director of Batman and Sleepy Hollow, once again tackles a story that is very familiar to many, many people. Roald Dahl's semi-dark/semi-sweet (pun intended), cautionary tale of the four self-indulgent brats and one thoughtful and centered boy is a tome of pre-adolescent literature and ultimately how every child struggles with temptation. We follow them on their pursuit of five golden tickets and through their struggles with their own temptations. The children run the gamut of personalities from the gluttonous Augustus Gloop to the obnoxious Violet Beauregarde to the humble and unassuming Charlie Bucket. What made these characters so real for us was that we all wanted to be each of these characters from time to time. I know that as a child I wished I could eat as much as Augustus or talk back to my parents like Veruca Salt on occasion!
Most children want to identify with Charlie, however. The movie does a fantastic job of capturing the quiet and thoughtful spirit of this boy. At the same time, the other children are portrayed with a bit more depth, exploring their relationships with their respective parents. I read the book to my second-graders this year. In subsequent discussions with them, while they thought the other children were funny and gross, they clearly embraced Charlie. When asked why, one of my students said, "Because he's a hero for standing up against what is bad like being greedy." A friend of mine, who is also a teacher, came with me to see the film. She asked me, "Do you think that children nowadays get why Charlie is the hero and the other children are held in such disdain?" We reflected on the behaviors of the children and their parents (as teachers are wont to do). I would also love to ask students how the Charlie on screen was different or the same from the Charlie in the book. By the way, Freddie Highmore is endearing as the selfless Charlie Bucket.
There was another wish that I had for the film. I didn't want them to mess it up. So many questions came to mind. Was it going to be very different? How faithful would the film be to the book, what changes were they going to make, and how would these changes affect it? Like many others, I am not only a diehard lover of the book (I still have my first copy from 1964), but the first movie version, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, is also a favorite of mine. This time around, the writer and director have chosen to reintroduce parts of the book that were left out or changed in the first movie version. The flashback sequences where Willy Wonka discovers the Oompa-Loompas and the story of the Indian Prince who wants a palace made out of chocolate are back in. Veruca Salt's demise by squirrels throwing her away as a "bad nut" has been changed back from the "golden geese laying eggs" in the 1971 version, which by the way, I believe is one of the highlights of this movie. (They use real squirrels. See if you can figure out how.) I found the inclusion of these particular scenes to add to the overall literary feel of the movie.
In the 1964 edition of the book, the discovery of the Oompa-Loompas was scrutinized in the early 70's for its portrayal of the Oompa-Loompas as racist and discriminatory. In 1973, as a result of these critiques and the changing times, a revised second edition was released by Dahl. This is still the current version of the book. This would be an intriguing place to begin a conversation about changing, editing, and revising stories with children. Other questions include: What are your expectations going in? Did it meet your expectations? Did the movie live up to what you pictured in your imagination while you were reading the book? What were some of the changes and differences? Did you like them? What would you have done differently? I only wish it wasn't the summer, so I could submit these questions to my class now.
It would be difficult not to mention how this movie differs from the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. However that could be another review in itself. One difference stands out for me though. The songs. While just the mention of The Candy Man will force any human to hum it for a 24-hour period (sorry!), the songs in this version are limited to the original songs by the Oompa-Loompas from the book. In fact, they use the same lyrics. I did have a lot of trouble discerning and understanding what they were singing in the movie.
By now, many of you might have heard a few things about Johnny Depp's portrayal of Willy Wonka. He has put off some critics, while many are lauding his brilliant acting job. I must say that I land somewhere in the middle. He took some getting used to at first. Depp slinks around with a whiny, condescending tone that was more bothersome than enjoyable. However, by the time the first contestant is gone, I found myself empathizing with him and his quirks. The writers chose to insert a new backstory to Willy Wonka's life. By showing flashbacks of his childhood, we are better able to understand his choice to be this reclusive candy maker. The most dramatic change from the book is the ending. The importance of family and the connection between Charlie and Willy Wonka are emphasized at the end and tied up in a tidy package that I think the writers thought would be more palatable to the audience. I thought that it was a bit too quaint, although not enough to detract from my enjoyment of the movie.
This film is a welcome addition to the glut of mediocre adaptations of children's books. It's an especially excellent stepping-off place for a discussion about differences and changes. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a sumptuous feast for the eyes. Children and adults will marvel at and be enchanted by the exciting visual text created by Burton and the actors. Read the book, see the movies, talk amongst each other, and, mostly, have fun. Like blowing out the candles and making a wish, this is a story that never gets old. •
Jay Fung is the 7-8s (second grade) teacher at the Manhattan Country School, a New York City private school with sliding-scale tuition and a working farm in the Catskills. He is a writer and a book fanatic who tries his hardest to help everyone else feel the same way.
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CBC Teacher Movie Reviews
• 6/15/05 - Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - PG
• 7/25/05 - Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
• Brothers Grimm - PG-13
• Chicken Little - G
• 12/9/05 - The Chronicles of Narnia - PG
• 2/10/06 - Curious George (H. A. and Margaret Rey, et. al.)
• 4/7/06 - Hoot (Carl Hiaasen)
• 3/3/06 - Aquamarine (Alice Hoffman)
• 7/21/06 - Lady in the Water (M. Night Shyamalan)
• 7/28/06 - Flicka (Mary O'Hara)
• 8/4/06 - Ant Bully (John Nickle)
• 8/18/06 - Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz)
• 8/25/06 - How to Eat Fried Worms (Thomas Rockwell)
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
"Tim Burton is cheerfully inventive in imagining the city and the factory, and the film's production design, by Alex McDowell, is a wonder." —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
"Tim Burton's wondrous and flawed adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved novel succeeds by feeding the youthful appetite for aesthetic surprise." —The New York Times
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is much more faithful to its source than the 1971 film, and for the better. August's script often transposes Dahl's dialogue word for word from page to screen, where it shimmers wryly." —The Boston Globe
Directed by: Tim Burton
Written by: Roald Dahl (book), John August (screenplay)
MPAA rating: PG for quirky situations, action and mild language
Runtime: 115 minutes
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